


Summer Smells

by ourdarkspirits



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, One Shot, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:23:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourdarkspirits/pseuds/ourdarkspirits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sort of a companion piece to "a lightning bolt that splits your bones," but it's not necessary to have read that first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Smells

She honestly didn’t know what it was about Jake Stone that made her feel anchored, centered, focused. Just after they had met he had called her little lady, and if that didn’t sound like a patronizing good ol’ boy she didn’t know what did. And she really didn’t have time for that.

That was before. Before they had gone looking for the Crown of King Arthur, before she had betrayed them all. And though they had all forgiven her (all except Jake that is) she still hadn’t managed to forgive herself. 

Her feelings about Jake had changed quickly. They had been in that henge and she had been spiraling, like Alice following the rabbit into Wonderland, and then Jake had been there. Summer smells. She would forever associate him with summer smells. He had helped her focus on summer smells, helped her focus. She had been able to give them the information they needed. 

Cassandra had had a long time to come to terms with the tumor growing in her brain. (Brain grape, Ezekiel had called it) She knew she was going to die, and most days she could live knowing her time was a lot shorter than she would have expected, hoped. Discovering the library had helped her remember the joy and thrill of math of being just exactly who she was. Still, when Lamia had offered her a chance of living without the tumor, she had jumped at it. She may have come to terms with death, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t take up an offer of life. 

Yet it had cost. It had cost the warmth she had felt from Jake. He couldn’t forgive her for jumping at the chance to live. To him it was the worst possible betrayal, and she understood, she did, so why couldn’t he? 

He still helped her; he still stood impossible close to her. He had said he liked her but didn’t trust her. She supposed he was just being protective, making sure he could be there when she collapsed. She told herself she shouldn’t like it. It was no different them him calling her little lady and she could take care of herself thank you very much. Still she liked it.

The way he occupied her thoughts, she was surprised his presence didn’t distract her. (She wasn’t really but that was beside the point.) When he stood that close, it felt like a focus, an anchor. She could do the math when he was close, a warm, solid presence. She could by fine on her own, but it was nicer to have Jake around to be an anchor. 

She tried not to think too much about how badly she wanted to regain his trust. She was pretty sure she had proven pretty sufficiently that she could be trusted. She had saved their lives often enough. She tried to be perfectly fine having him around to anchor her when she hallucinated, when her thoughts spiraled so far away from her that she collapsed. It was perfectly fine to have him there beside her, even if it did confuse her when she was alone. 

When she had seen him with Mabel, it had been just about impossible to continue pretending like she was fine with how things were. The jealousy had been intense and immediate. Still, it hadn’t stopped her from doing everything she could to save the people in that town, left in a purgatory by Nikola Tesla. And when they hadn’t been able to pull the townspeople back into the world it had been devastating.

When Flynn said they were ready to be Librarians in their own right she had been excited and nervous. She would be able to continue saving the world, using her unique talents in ways that helped people, but now she would be on her own. 

She was conscious of Jake peeking over her shoulder as she took a peek inside her book. They had both said they could use a break, but she really didn’t have anything else to do, so why not see what her clipping book had a store. 

She ruthlessly tamped down the surge of happiness when Jake asked her where she was going. He was going to see his family after all. She told him anyway.

She wasn’t able to tamp down that happiness when Ezekiel and Jake both came running after her. She couldn’t help but look forward to this future, the three of them continuing to work together saving the world.

Later, much later, Jake told her he trusted her, and she beamed at him. When he told her he liked her (no, more than that) she kissed him. She may have had a brain grape always looming in the background, but there was magic in the world, and maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to remove the tumor that way.


End file.
